CLEVELAND — Cleveland Browns running back Nick Chubb is having an historically good season in 2019, and all of the hard work during the offseason and since reporting for training camp in July has paid off for the second-year ball-carrier.
Currently, the NFL’s leading rusher, Chubb was selected to represent the Browns and the AFC in the 2020 Pro Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando on Sunday, January 26. The NFL officially announced the rosters Tuesday night.
It is Chubb’s first Pro Bowl selection and marked the first time that a Browns running back was selected to play in the NFL’s annual All-Star game since Kevin Mack earned the postseason honor following the 1988 season. Chubb will start for the AFC in the contest.
"I am proud to be able to represent the Cleveland Browns at the Pro Bowl," Chubb said in a statement after the announcement was made. "This is the result of a lot of hard work and I want to thank my teammates and the fans for their support.
"Everybody played a part in this -- our line, tight ends, the whole offense. It’s not just me. I am truly honored by this, but I would trade this and any individual award for team success."
Chubb leads the NFL with 1,408 rushing yards and eight touchdowns with 59 first downs, 11 20-yard gains and four 40-yard rushes against only two turnovers. He has also proven to be a multi-dimensional back with his 35 catches for 277 yards, 13 first downs and four 20-yard plays.
Chubb only helped his chances of finishing 2019 as the NFL’s leading rusher in Sunday’s 38-24 loss to the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, as he powered his way to 127 yards and one touchdown, a 33-yard score, on just 17 carries.
Although the Browns added another talented ball carrier to the backfield in Kareem Hunt after he served an eight-game suspension, Chubb’s numbers have not dropped off, as he has registered four 100-yard games and an average of 100.83 yards per game while splitting touches the last six weeks.
“He always makes us look really good,” center JC Tretter said. “That’s something he’s been doing since he first got here. We’ve talked about it with the Oakland game last year where some of our blocks aren’t perfect, but he finds a way to make a couple guys miss and make us look really good for it.
“That’s always something that we, as offensive linemen, enjoy where sometimes, we give him runs where he can get through the second level untouched, and sometimes, we don’t, and when he can take those ones we don’t and make us look really good about it, then it’s a positive for us.”
A team-first kind of player, Chubb will not be going to Orlando alone, as wide receiver Jarvis Landry was also selected. Landry earned his fifth straight invitation to the game.
Landry has 1,018 yards and five touchdowns with 17 20-yard plays, one 40-yard gain and 50 first downs on 74 catches and is the Browns’ leader in receiving yards and touchdowns. Landry surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his career and first time since 2016 in last week’s loss to Arizona.
"The Pro Bowl is a tremendous honor, and even though this seems like an individual award, it wouldn’t have been made possible without the support and efforts of my team," Landry said.
"I’m incredibly grateful to be returning for a fifth time and to represent the hard work and dedication we put in as Cleveland Browns this season. Like I said last year, it’s going to be very special for me to wear the orange helmet."
In addition to Chubb and Landry, guard Joel Bitonio, linebacker Joe Schobert, cornerback Denzel Ward, and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. were named as Pro Bowl alternates for the Browns. The game kicks off Jan. 26 at 3 p.m. from Camping World Stadium in Orlando.
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